With Episode I, I definitely agree as I'm sure many, many fans do that there is an alternative version of Episode I and we pretty much know what that is. At the same time, I see what Lucas was thinking...even if he went a tad too far.
Sure, he could've shown Anakin, as a teenager, to be just as sweet and as innocent and selfless as he is in the film now. But, like all teenagers even if they are only raised by one parent, tend to want to get away from the nest and tend to be a tad rebellious in those teenager years. And if he had done that, there would've been no mystery to Anakin turning into Darth Vader.
At least, at the age of 9, you could literally reflect after the film was over and truly wonder how the hell "that kid" becomes Darth Vader after witnessing the character in Episode I.
I mean, for Lucas, it comes down to two options; do it the way I've hinted at in interviews and what's been hinted at in the EU or go in a totally different, dangerous direction.
The majority felt that the totally different, dangerous direction is what killed the Prequels from day one. But there are some who see what he was going for and believes it works....
But, truly, his decision did change how would eventually come out. For the record, I don't have a problem with the 10 year gap between Episodes I and II. There was enough, in Hayden's performance, to make the connection between how the character was in the first film and what you can infer within that 10 year gap when Episode II starts.